Soil Micromorphology of Land Cover in Landslide Susceptibility Area in Kelara Subwatershed, Jeneponto, Indonesia

Background and Objective: External factors such as lithology, climate, slopes, land cover and soil have been carried out to provide solutions in anticipating and responding to land degradation, but disasters still occur. So it is imperative to see the impact of internal soil factors on some potential land use land cover in this area to answer and anticipate the effects of climate change in predicting the susceptibility of the soil to disasters. This study aims to study the soil micromorphology of some land cover in the landslide susceptibility area of the Kelara Subwatershed in Rumbia District, Jeneponto Regency of South Sulawesi. Materials and Methods: The study is descriptive exploratory through field surveys and supported by data from laboratory analysis. Laboratory analyses include soil texture analysis, particle density, bulk density, porosity, permeability and thin section analysis for micromorphological observations in soil. Results: The clay fraction content increased >25% in all land cover due to increased rainfall since 2010, which triggered an increase in soil mineral weathering activity. Land use for mixed plants showed a significant increase in clay >30% and plane voids. Permeability in the mixed plant reached 0.42 cm hrG1 with category very slow has significantly different from another land cover and induced landslide. Conclusion: Increasing clay and decreasing soil permeability trigger the formation of plane voids which cause the soil to undergo a micro shrinking and slipping process and internal micro-shifts. It is the key to improving soil susceptibility to landslides in mixed plant land use in the sloping area.